Stesse

Stesse is the feminine plural form of the Italian adjective stesso, meaning "the same." It is used to express that two or more feminine-noun items share identity with something previously mentioned or implied. It normally accompanies a feminine plural noun: le stesse cose (the same things), le stesse persone (the same people), le stesse ragioni (the same reasons).

Etymology and forms: Stesso derives from Latin ipse via the evolution of demonstratives into adjectives in Italian. The full inflectional set includes lo stesso (masculine singular), la stessa (feminine singular), gli stessi (masculine plural), and le stesse (feminine plural). When used, it agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies, and can appear in elliptical or pronoun-like constructions to indicate sameness with a previously mentioned item.

Usage notes: The feminine plural form is used specifically with feminine plural nouns. It is common in both written and spoken Italian. In many contexts, the phrase le stesse is followed by a noun, reinforcing that the referenced items are identical to those previously discussed. Compared with the masculine counterpart lo stesso, stesse carries the gender/number agreement required by the noun it modifies rather than a generic sense of sameness.

See also: lo stesso, la stessa, gli stessi. These related forms demonstrate how Italian marks gender and number on the adjective to express the concept of sameness across different nouns.